A once-popular hiking and equestrian trail in the San Dimas foothills that has fallen into disrepair is getting a new lease on life.

The San Dimas City Council at its meeting last week awarded Bellfree Contractors Inc. a $60,000 contract for improvements to the Poison Oak trail, which winds for about a third of a mile through San Dimas Canyon Park in Sycamore Canyon.

Assistant San Dimas City Manager Ken Duran described the project as the “restoration of a historic trail that had gotten overgrown.”

Through years of neglect, parts of the trail have gotten washed out and plants, including the trail’s namesake poison oak, have encroached from the sides.

“It is narrow, overgrown and relatively difficult to find,” according to city documents.

Theresa Bruns, director of the San Dimas Parks and Recreation Department, said the trail, which right now is only usable by hikers, will be widened so it can be used by horseback riders as well. When completed, the trail will connect Sycamore Canyon Road to a fire road commonly used by hikers and horse riders.

Improvements will also include the construction of rock retaining walls, rail fencing, a culvert crossing and the installation of a picnic table.

Bellfree Contractors, one of eight contractors to bid on the project, is based in Los Angeles and specializes in the construction and rehabilitation of trails. The company has undertaken projects throughout Southern California and several other states.

Bruns said the trail is mostly on county property, but connects to city trails, leading the city and Los Angeles County to partner on the project.

Duran said much of the funding for the project will come from a county grant the city applied for several years ago.

The Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District Competitive Trails Grant is expected to cover 75 percent of the cost of the trail rehabilitation, and will also be used to make improvements to a hilltop picnic area above Horsethief Canyon Park.

Bruns said she expects construction on the trail to begin in the next few weeks.

For more information about the project, call Parks and Recreation at 909-394-6230.